


Inside the Lines

by Avengers_Whore



Series: A Little Color Called Life [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Adoption, Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Alpha/Beta, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Baby Wanda, Beta Sam Wilson, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Infertility, M/M, Omega Steve Rogers, Omega Tony Stark, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Toddler Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 09:40:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20580407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avengers_Whore/pseuds/Avengers_Whore
Summary: “You’d look amazing with a pup on yer hip,” he murmured, startling Steve. The blond sat up slightly and looked at him, brow furrowed.“Buck, you know I can’t-”“Yeah, yeah, Stevie, I know, but we can adopt! Just like Sam and Rhodey did with Wanda,” the alpha told him, smiling wide as he looked up at his mate. He was feeling giddy just at the thought of having a pup in their home. “Plenty of kids out there who would love to be part of our family.”





	Inside the Lines

“She’s so tiny,” Steve murmured in awe, reaching a hand into the crib and letting the little pup wrap her small hand around one of his fingers. His cheeks flushed lightly as he smiled, a purr erupting out of his throat before he could stop himself.

“She’s only a couple months old, of course she’s tiny,” Sam chided, a grin on the beta’s face. He reached into the crib and picked the little girl up, brushing a few strands of her reddish-brown hair from her forehead. “Tiny but fierce, right Wanda?”

Bucky and Rhodey chuckled softly from their spots in the doorway, both alphas giving the beta and omega some distance while they fawned over the pup. Rhodey and Sam had just adopted the girl from Sokovia a month or so ago and had waited before introducing her to Bucky and Steve.

“When are you two gonna have a pup of your own?” Rhodey asked quietly, looking over at his longtime friend. Bucky sighed softly and offered the other man a soft smile.

“I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about it, not since the doctor told Steve he’d never be able to carry to term. His body just can’t handle it,” the brunet murmured, eyes turning back to his omega mate. The small blond had been quite the sickly child from the moment he was born and so his body was weaker and more frail than the average omega. He’d gotten better, he could run and breathe and do general tasks without keeling over but it had taken it’s toll.

“You can always adopt. God knows there’s too many kids who need a loving family man,” Rhodey told him, nudging him lightly. Bucky nodded his head and crossed his arms over his chest. Just watching Steve with the little pup made his heart swell with love.

Steve turned back to look at him with a bright grin on his face, blue eyes shining and Bucky swore his whole world stopped in that moment.

Later, when both were getting ready for bed, the alpha watched his mate go about his night routine. He brushed his teeth and hair, changed into his pajamas which was usually a pair of sweats and then one of his mate’s shirts. And then he went about fixing the nest as if Bucky wasn’t already in it.

The alpha watched him as he fiddled with the blankets, extra soft against his sensitive skin. The blond squirmed before giving his mate a glare.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“Can’t I just like lookin’ at you?”

Steve scowled and Bucky chuckled, opening his arms and pulling his mate to lay against his chest. He held the omega tight to his chest and breathed in his honey and charcoal scent.

“You’d look amazing with a pup on yer hip,” he murmured, startling Steve. The blond sat up slightly and looked at him, brow furrowed.

“Buck, you know I can’t-”

“Yeah, yeah, Stevie, I know, but we can adopt! Just like Sam and Rhodey did with Wanda,” the alpha told him, smiling wide as he looked up at his mate. He was feeling giddy just at the thought of having a pup in their home. “Plenty of kids out there who would love to be part of our family.”

“Yeah… you’re right,” Steve murmured, a small smile on his face. His cheeks were flushed, feeling happier the longer he thought about it. “Okay, let’s do it.”

-

The process to get approved to be an adoptive family was long and hard and Steve had shed tears of frustration more times than either of them could count. But the wait was over and they were on their way to their local orphanage. Unfortunately Brooklyn was a common place for orphans in New York and this place was bursting at the seams.

The pair walked up to the building and made their way up the steps. Bucky opened the door and led Steve inside, pressing a kiss to his omega’s cheek. They went inside and found a frenzied, blond omega gathering papers onto the desk. He was broader than Steve was, and on the taller side for an omega. He looked up with wide eyes and smiled sheepishly.

“Morning! I’m Clint,” the blond man greeted, holding out his hand. Steve took it first and then Bucky.

“Hi. I’m Bucky and this is my mate, Steve,” Bucky replied, smiling back.

“You’re here to meet some of the kids. Natasha told me you’d be by this morning,” the omega told him. He turned back to the desk and started going through the folders messily stacked on top, cheering when he found a file marked ‘Barnes.’ He opened it up and read through it quickly. “Looks like she marked you guys down to see the really young ones. Babies and toddlers?”

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Steve murmured, grabbing Bucky’s hand and holding it tightly. He was nervous but excited to see some of the pups. Clint smiled reassuringly and set the file down. He went towards one of the doors and signaled for them to follow after him.

He led the pair down a hall with multiple doors, opening one at the end of the hall to reveal a play room filled with toddlers. They were all running around and playing with only an adult or two around to watch after all of them.

“Here you go! If you need anything, come find me or just ask Pietro,” the omega told them with another smile before leaving them be. Steve and Bucky looked at each other thoughtfully for a moment.

“Divide and conquer or do this together?” Bucky asked, wrapping his arms around the smaller man. Steve hummed thoughtfully, kissing his chin.

“Together,” the blond decided before he pulled away from his mate. He started walking over towards one side of the room and Bucky followed after him with a fond, dopey smile on his face.

-

Tony sat at the table in the corner all by himself, quiet and comfortable to color while all of the other kids played with their toys. He preferred to not engage with them - they were loud and demanding and he just didn’t like playing the games the other pups want to play. So he sat in his corner with his coloring book and crayons.

Sometimes Pietro came and colored with him but the beta usually didn’t have the patience to sit for long periods of time.

The little boy had instantly noticed the two strangers as soon as they’d come into the room but had ultimately ignored them. They were here to find a pup that would play and interact with them, not a troublesome introvert who had way too many nightmares and not enough to eat.

He looked up when someone sat across from him, momentarily surprised by the fact that the pair of strangers were sitting across from him at his little table. Up close, he could smell that the tall brunet was an alpha and the small blond was an omega like him.

“Hi there,” the alpha murmured soothingly, a small smile on his face. “My name’s Bucky and this is my mate Steve.”

Tony watched them warily for a moment before turning back to his coloring. He picked up a red crayon and carefully began to color in a flower. The boy colored in the lines, his tongue poking out as he concentrated. The omega watched him carefully, a small smile on his face as he watched the pup.

“Can I help you color?”

“No thank you,” Tony murmured softly, voice barely audible. He pulled his neat, little box closer just in case the blond man got any ideas about doing it anyway.

“What’s your name?” That was the brunet alpha again.

“Please go away,” he whispered, glancing up at them before looking at his coloring book again. The pair stayed for another moment before they got up and left him alone. He looked up and saw them on the other side of the room talking with another little girl who was showing them her dolls and he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.

-

Bucky and Steve got back in their car in the mid-afternoon after hours of talking and playing with plenty of pups. They sat for a moment in silence before Steve turned to look at his alpha with wide, blue eyes.

“Bucky-”

“Yeah, I know. He barely said six words to us but I liked him too,” Bucky murmured, reaching over and taking his omega’s hand. He squeezed the pale hand reassuringly before he put the car in drive and started heading back towards their little apartment complex.

They set up another visit for the following week.

-

“Antoshka,” Natasha murmured, placing a gentle hand on the pup’s shoulder and giving it a light shake. The little brunet was passed out at the corner table, his crayons scattered around him and his coloring book under his head. She hated to wake him, the omega got so little sleep as it was, but she wanted him to change his clothes and get something to eat.

Tony whined softly and blinked his eyes open, looking up at the redheaded alpha. Natasha rumbled softly as she picked him up, taking him out of the playroom and up to his room to get him into a clean change of clothes.

After he was clean and dressed, she brought him down to the dining room and got him some cinnamon oatmeal, his favorite. He especially loved when there were sliced strawberries in it. The little omega smiled tiredly and started to eat, always so tidy and careful to not spill anything.

Once he was done, he handed over his bowl and spoon and made his way back to the play room, which was once more filled with other pups. He walked over to his table and climbed up onto the seat, prepared to begin coloring again.

Except.

Except…

Someone had colored in his book. And they’d colored all over the page, all over the pretty picture. The colors made no sense and they weren’t inside the lines and tears quickly began welling up in the omega’s eyes.

He started to cry quietly in his corner, picking up his crayons - some of which were broken - back into the box. He sniffled and hiccupped as he closed the box, startling when the seats across from him were moved. He looked up and came face-to-face with the couple from last week.

Steve had his arms full with a few new coloring books and a case of colored pencils. He had a warm smile on his face until he saw the red, puffy eyes and the abundance of tears on Tony’s face. He set everything down on the table and went around to kneel by the brunet’s side.

“What’s wrong, little one?” Steve crooned softly, his brow furrowed worriedly. Tony didn’t even mind that the other omega was suddenly in his space. He just sniffled again and pointed to his ruined coloring book. “Oh honey…”

“It’s okay,” Bucky rumbled soothingly, gently pulling the coloring book away and closing it so the little boy didn’t have to look at it anymore. He pushed forward one of the books his mate had brought, opening it up to a random page to show Tony. “This one’s pretty cool, huh?”

Tony hiccupped and looked at it curiously, wiping at his eyes as he slowly stopped crying. He looked at the page with wide eyes before reaching out and turning the page, wanting to look through.

“I thought it would be a fun idea to all color together. I love to color,” Steve told the omega, who shyly looked at him. “That okay?”

Tony slowly nodded his head, sniffling and pulling the new book close. Bucky pushed the new pencils towards him as well, smiling encouragingly as the little pup opened it up and carefully pulled one out. Steve moved back to the other side of the table and sat down, pulling his sketchbook out with his pack of charcoal pencils.

The trio sat quietly for a few hours, coloring and drawing respectively. Tony was happier than he’d been earlier, gently kicking his legs back and forth as he got closer and closer to finishing the first of many pages in his book. Finally, he finished the last detail and he placed his pencil back in the box.

The pup picked the book up and turned it to show Bucky and Steve, a wide grin on his little face as he proudly showed off his work. Steve purred happily in response to the boy’s happiness, looking over the page. He was impressed with the level of neatness the pup had, everything colored inside the lines.

“That looks amazing, little one,” the blond praised. He grabbed one of his charcoal pencils and handed it over to him. “Why don’t you sign your name on the bottom? Every artist signs his or her art.”

Tony flushed at being called an artist and nodded his head, taking the pencil and setting the book down once more. He carefully held the charcoal and started to slowly write his name on the bottom right corner of the page.

T-O-N-Y.

Steve and Bucky smiled happily as they watched the pup.

-

The pair showed up every week on the same day at the same time, getting Tony used to a new routine which settled his anxiety down greatly. Every other visit they’d show up with a new coloring book for Tony since he’d go through them pretty fast. Once in a while, Steve would hand him something he’d drawn and would ask the pup to color it for him.

Those were Tony’s favorite things to color.

The little pup was eagerly waiting at his table for the pair to show up and color with him, always happy to see them now that they’d been here for two months already. He smiled when the door opened but the smile dampened slightly when it was just Miss Natasha stepping inside.

The redheaded alpha walked over to him and smiled at the pup, ruffling his hair gently which startled a giggle out of him.

“Come along, Antoshka, you get a private room today,” the alpha told him, holding out her hand for him. He gathered up his things in his little arms before taking her hand and letting her lead him out of the play room. She took him to a room where Steve and Bucky were already waiting, looking over a packet of papers.

Tony hurried over to them, putting his things on the table before moving around it to hug them. Steve purred happily and pulled the brunet up onto his lap, nuzzling the side of his head. Bucky rumbled and ruffled the boy’s curls just like Natasha had a few moments ago.

“Antoshka, there’s something very important we’d like to ask you,” Natasha murmured, walking over and sitting at the table. Tony looked over at her curiously. “Steve and Bucky would like to know if they can adopt you.”

The pup blinked owlishly at the woman before he suddenly clammed up, all shy and nervous-looking. He turned his big, brown eyes on the pair holding him.

“R-Really? You want m-me?”

“Of course we do, sweetheart,” Steve purred, nuzzling the side of Tony’s head.

“There’s nothing we want more,” Bucky rumbled, nipping at his ear playfully. The little omega giggled happily and squirmed away from the alpha’s tickling.

“So what do you say, Tones?” Natasha asked with a warm smile on her face.

“Y-Yeah,” Tony whispered, a smile slowly growing on his face until it was a full on grin. Steve breathed out a sigh of relief and kissed the top of the pup’s head, purring loudly.

“Great. Let’s go pack your things while they sign all of the paperwork,” the alpha woman rumbled, walking over and picking the boy up.

-

“This is your new home, baby,” Steve told Tony as he carried him into their apartment. It was fairly modest but it was big enough to handle the three of them with no problems. It was a two bedroom and they’d spent the last couple of months preparing the second one for Tony.

Tony warily sniffed the air and relaxed when he only found Steve’s and Bucky’s familiar scents in the air. He squirmed out of Steve’s hold and went around exploring the new space. Bucky walked passed both of the omegas and went into the hall so he could put Tony’s bag in his new room.

“Which corner do I sleep in?” Tony asked quietly, brow furrowing slightly as he looked around. Steve frowned slightly and shook his head, walking over to the pup.

“You don’t sleep in a corner, sweetie, you sleep in a bed,” the blond told him, gently taking his hand and leading him to his bedroom. The room was painted a bright red since it was the boy’s favorite color and had plenty of bookshelves since they’d learned he liked to read. There was a desk and chair against one wall, all of the drawers filled with colored pencils, crayons, and coloring books.

And the bed was shaped like an Italian race car.

Tony gaped and ran over to it, scrambling up onto the bed and rolling around on the sheets excitedly. Bucky watched him fondly from where he was standing by the dresser folding clothes. There were new clothes already inside to mix in with the old ones.

“I think he likes it, Stevie,” the alpha said, finishing with the clothing. He looked back in the suitcase and his smile softened as he pulled out a bright red teddy bear. He walked over to the bed and gently placed the bear next to Tony, who squealed happily and hugged onto the stuffed toy.

Steve walked over and wrapped his arms around his alpha, both watching the little pup roll around in his new bed and hug onto his bear. The omega purred happily and nuzzled his mate.

“Best idea you’ve ever had.”


End file.
